🔗 Share this article

So, what did you think of 2025 in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as people post on online? Packed with top marks for your offspring and wild costume gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a ocean of frustration with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic dental work?

I've corralled the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to debate the paramount thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Fair enough.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Title I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it has great art and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the day.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2026

Grand Theft Auto VI.
And it will come out in 2026, even if we have to stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.